Unusually heavy rain, Nghe An farmers suffer heavy damage

After the rain stopped, people in Hung Nguyen district urgently harvested spring rice with the motto "Green at home is better than ripe in the fields". Photo: Thanh Phuc

Taking advantage of the clear weather, on May 16, farmers in the communes of Hung Loi, Hung Phuc, and Hung Thinh (Hung Nguyen)urgently harvest spring riceAlthough in some areas, the rice is only about 80% ripe. “With the motto “green at home is better than ripe in the field”, we have contacted and brought in harvesters to harvest the remaining area, avoiding damage if the rain continues. Currently, the rice has not been flooded much, a few have fallen but can still be harvested by machine”, said Mr. Ho Do Nhuan - Head of Hamlet 3, Hung Phuc Commune.

One of the localities that suffered heavy damage due to unusually heavy rains, people in some communes in Thanh Chuong district are currently trying to “save” their rice. The water level is slowly receding and the forecast of more rains is making harvesting quite difficult.

Transporting rice home. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Hoang Dinh Thuc - Vice Chairman of Thanh Ha Commune People's Committee (Thanh Chuong) said: "The whole commune has nearly 10 hectares of rice deeply flooded due to heavy rain. The low-lying terrain makes drainage extremely difficult. In addition, the drainage canal leading water from the fields to the river is silted up, blocked by bamboo and trees, so the water drains slowly. Currently, people can only wait for the sun to rise, the water to recede, and then harvest. However, this year, the rice has neck blast disease, so it is easy to break and fall; some "nose" rice varieties, when it rains, have lost 20-30% of their grains, so a decrease in yield is certain."

Unusually heavy rain on May 15 caused deep flooding in rice fields in Thanh Chuong district. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Also according to Mr. Thuc, although knowing the characteristics of low-lying areas, oftenfloodingSo, they restructured the rice varieties to be short-term and planted earlier, but due to unusually early rains, 90% of the rice area has not been harvested yet.

In Thuong Tan Loc commune (Nam Dan), rice and corn were not much affected, but more than 20 hectares of young watermelons were damaged. People are going to the fields to dredge the beds and drainage ditches; and to raise the tops and fruits to avoid rotting. Ms. Nguyen Thi Dong, a watermelon grower in Thuong Tan Loc commune, said: "The watermelons are still young, and heavy rains have caused many fruits to be damaged and crushed. The most worrying thing is that after rain, strong sunlight, and heat, the plants are prone to wilting and dying."

In many other localities, a lot of corn that was full of kernels fell down. People went to the fields to "raise" the corn, mound up the young corn, and harvest the corn that had full kernels. If the plants were broken and could not be repaired, people cut them down to feed livestock.

In many localities, corn fell down. Photo: Thanh Phuc

According to a quick report from the People's Committees of Thanh Chuong, Que Phong, Nghi Loc, and Tuong Duong districts, the initial damage caused by storms, whirlwinds, and heavy rains is as follows:

1.About people:1 person was injured (Child: Luong Le Nhat Minh, born in 2012, son of Mr. Luong Van Chung, in Cao village, Quang Phong commune, Que Phong district, was crushed by a collapsed fence and is currently being treated at the Provincial General Hospital).

2.About housing: 1House subsidence in Tuong Duong district.

3.On agriculture and forestry:There are 128 hectares affected; of which:

- Damaged rice area: 118.58 ha (Thanh Chuong: 51.5 ha; Nghi Loc: 12 ha; Do Luong: 54.8 ha; Tuong Duong: 0.28 ha);

- Damaged crop area: 10.03 ha (Thanh Chuong: 6 ha of crops; Nghi Loc: 10 ha of watermelon and cantaloupe; Do Luong: 3.0 ha of crops; Tuong Duong: 0.03 ha of crops).

4.About livestock:Dead livestock: 3 (Thanh Chuong: 2 buffaloes; Tuong Duong: 1 cow);

5.About seafood:Fish ponds damaged and washed away: 0.3 ha (about 73 kg of fish washed away in Tuong Duong district).

6. Regarding traffic works:

- 25m of rural concrete road in Thanh Duong commune, Thanh Chuong district completely collapsed;

- Huoi Xa - Pieng Cooc road, Mai Son commune, Tuong Duong district had landslides about 100m long, about 150m long³earth, rock

7.About other works and equipment:

- Collapsed fence: 25m (Que Phong district);

- Domestic water project: 1 project was damaged, about 60m of D90 pipe was broken in Luu Kien commune, Tuong Duong district.

Heavy rain caused a complete landslide on the concrete road in Thanh Duong commune (Thanh Chuong). Local authorities have set up barriers to warn people not to pass through. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The Standing Office of the Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue of Nghe An province has issued an official dispatch requesting localities to urgently implement the following contents: Mobilize local resources to support and overcome the consequences of natural disasters, initially stabilize the lives of people, especially households with injured people and damaged houses; Organize inspection, damage assessment, synthesize and propose to competent authorities for support according to current regulations.